Finding Cody
by Raven-of-Moraea
Summary: Marie is a pelican whose world is turned upside down when an incident causes one of her dearest friends to accidentily end up on a plane to Sydney, Australia. Now she is determined to get him back. Even if she has to cross an ocean to do it. NigelxOC
1. Chapter 1

Hey, I know I posted somthing like this before, buuuut, I didn't really like it. So, here's a different version.

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Finding Cody

Chapter 1: Accident

"Christine? Christine. CHRISTINE!!" Angel Marie, a young pelican with white feathers and blue eyes, glared at her slumbering friend, who was pathetically sprawled out on the beach's warm sand.

Christine still didn't stir.

Angel Marie sighed. She waddled over to the water's edge, filled her gullet with cold water and waddled back over to her friend.

"Wake up, you loony bird!" she shouted, a little muffled from the water. Then she emptied the contents from her beak onto Christine's head.

The other pelican woke up with a start. Coughing and spluttering, she gave Marie a death glare, "What, ptoo, was that for?!" the black mark on her chest seemed to get bigger as she ruffled her feathers angrily.

"Have you seen Cody?" Marie asked right away.

"I thought Nicole was watching him,"

Marie gave her friend a knowing look.

"...Ohhh,"

"You feel me?"

"Totally,"

"Anyway, we've gotta find him."

"Well, is Nicole looking?"

"Of course she is. She's the one who lost him!" she sighed deeply, "I'm never leaving him with her again."

"If you find him,"

Marie glared at Christine.

"Aheheh!"

"Ugh! Just come on!"

---------------------

Not too far away, a little red fox kit bounded along a chain-linked fence. Signs that said "Do Not Enter" alligned it as far around as it went. The young fox looked through the fence and saw somthing he never saw before. It looked like a gray lake, only it didn't move, with strange lines painted all over it. And sitting on that lake, were the largest white birds he had ever seen.

"Cool." he said.

Unbeknownst to him, this was an airport.

Wanting to get a closer look, he tried to squeeze his head inside one of the holes. He had little success. His muzzle fit but he couldn't seem to get the rest of his furry head in. Then he tried biting it. He clamped his tiny jaws around the slick metal and tugged, "Uh! Uh! UH! Whoa!" he yelped as he flew backwards into a bush.

Frustrated, he ran up to the fence and slammed head first into it. The fence sent him flying backwards and he landed on his furry hind with a thud.

"Ow!" he rubbed his head with a paw and winced. He stood on his hind legs and steadied himself by putting his front paws on the fence. He huffed, "How are you supposed to get in here?" then he looked down at the dirt and got an idea. Gettting back on all fours, he dug his paws into the soft earth and began to dig.

When he thought the hole was deep enough, he squeezed his little body under the fence. It took him a little longer to get his other half in, but after a minute he finally succeeded in doing so.

"Yes!" he cried triumphantly. He began to bound over to one of the planes.

---------------------

Marie and Christine ran down the beach.

"Cody! Cody!" Marie called.

"Hey! It's Nicole!" Christine cried, pointing a wing in front of her.

Running towards them at full speed, a pelican that closely resembled Christine, skidded to a stop right before they all made contact.

"Did you find him?" Marie asked.

"No." Nicole sighed.

"He's gotta be around here somewhere!"

"I KNEW we should have left him at that zoo when we first met him!" Christine moaned.

Marie glared at her.

"Hey." said a voice behind them with a thick brooklyn accent.

They turned around to see a seagull striding up to them. The seagull was a little larger than any other seagull you might see and he looked very well fed.

"You girls looking for a little orange creature with a bushy tail?" he asked.

"Yes! You've seen him?" Marie asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Cute little thing. Looked sorta like a puppy, only--"

"Where is he?!" Marie asked frantically.

"Last time I saw him he was headin' toward the airport,"

"Airport?!" Nicole and Christine exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah," the seagull said, "Ya better hurry. Those plane wheels can turn anyone into flapjacks. My Uncle Vito learned that lesson the hard way."

Marie wasn't interested in hearing about someone's uncle. She had to find Cody, and fast.

"There's no time to lose!" she said, turning tail and running in the direction of the airport, "C'mon!"

Christine and Nicole didn't hesitate.

"Hey!" the seagull called, "If he asks, tell 'im 'Tony didn't say nothin'.' understand! Oi, I need some fish."


	2. Chapter 2

Chappy two

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Chapter 2: I'll Get Him Back

Cody skidded to a sudden stop in front of one of the planes large wheels. He looked at it and laughed when he saw his reflection. He was in the middle of making funny faces at himself when he heard voices. Startled, he his behind the wheel and peeked out from behind.

Two humans had driven a cart full of luggage up to the side of the plane where a large ladder that led from the ground to the cargo hold waited for them.

Cody watched curiously as the two started to load suitcase to suitcase.

"Hm. I wonder if there's anything to eat in those things,"

When the two humans weren't looking, he quietly crawled up to the ladder and scurried up it and into the plane. He looked around and saw that there were hundreds of those weird cases. Happily hopping from one to the other, he began to sniff each one carefully. Finally, his nose caught a whiff of somthing that smelled pretty good to him. It was inside a green case.

He began to paw at it, "Now, how do you get in?"

He clawed it and kicked it and bit it and smacked it. Then he jumped on top of it and began to bounce up and down. Then he saw a shiny gold thing on the side of it. He put his paw on it and tinkered with it for a minute. Then--

_Click!_

The lid burst open, sending little Cody flying halfway across the cargo hold like he had just sat on a mouse trap and set it off.

"Whoa!!" he smacked into another suitcase, which flew open and caused him to fall inside. Now he was buried in a pile of clothes. He dug most of his way out and popped his head out from the mess. A single gray sock rested on top of his head. He shook it off and ran back to the other suitcase.

He looked inside and saw a box of chocolate covered mint cookies sitting on top of a pile of folded jeans.

His mouth watered and he licked his lips hungrily, "Jackpot." he said to his selt triumphantly before ripping open the box and digging in.

---------------------

Marie, Nicole and Christine flew over the gate that surrounded the airports runway and landed on the other side.

"Do you see him?" Marie asked.

Christine and Nicol looked around, "No," they both said.

"He's gotta be around here somewhere," Marie said, looking around as well. "Cody! Cody! Where are you?"

---------------------

Cody happily ate his third helping of the delicious treats he had found in the suitcase. "Mmm," he licked chocolate from his muzzle, "This is the life!"

He was about to help himself to a fourth cookie when he heard a_ Bang! _

He whipped his head around to see that the door to the cargo hold, his only way out, had been closed.

"Oh, no!" he yelled, bounding over to the door and begginning to push. When the door didn't budge he leaped over to a pile of suitcases and climbed up. He looked out the window and then heard it. The planes engine's began to roar with life.

Frantic, he began to beat the window with his paws, "No! I don't wanna go! Let me out! Please!"

The plane slowly started to move down the runway.

---------------------

"Where could he be?" Marie asked anxiously.

Christine looked at the moving plane and gasped, "Marie!! There!!" she pointed to the plane.

Marie and Nicole looked at the plane. Marie looked from one window to the other. Then she saw a familiar sight banging on the window inside the planes cargo hold.

"Cody, no!" she flapped her wings and flew over to the plane. She flew up to the window and looked in at Cody.

"Angel! Let me outta here! I don't wanna go! I don't wanna go!!" he shouted from inside.

The plane began to pick up speed.

Marie flapped harder, trying to keep up. "Cody! It's going to be ok! I'm right here!"

"Marie! The door! Open the door!" Cody yelled.

Marie flew slower until she was right alongside the cargo hold's door. She began to peck it with her beak. She pecked, and pecked , and peacked until her beak was sore. It was no use. The door wasn't opening, the plane was taking off, and she was getting tired.

Then the plane lifted from the ground. The blast from the plane's engine sent Marie flying backwards and landing back on the runway with a thud.

Unable to fly any more she began to run helplessly down the runway.

"Cody! CODY!!" then she slowed to a stop and watched the plane grow smaller and smaller as it flew further away. "NO!!!"

Christine and Nicole ran up to Marie.

"Oh, no." Nicole breathed.

"Cody." Christine said sadly, "We were too late,"

Marie stared hoplessly at the distant plane, panting slightly. Then she narrowed her eyes, "No,"

Christine and Nicole looked at her.

"It's not too late," she finished, standing up.

"What are you talking about, Marie?" Nicole choked, "There's nothing else we can do!"

Marie wasn't about to give up, "Yes there is! And I'm going after him!" she began to spread her wings but Christine and Nicole blocked her path.

"No! Marie! You'll never make it! No bird has ever flown out to open sea and survived!" Christine said.

Marie just gave her friends a bold look and said, "Then I'll be the first."

Nicole and Christine were stunned. Too stunned to keep Marie from taking off and stopping a few feet away from them. She looked down at her friends and said, "I'm going to find Cody. I'll find him...or die trying," and with that she took off after the plane.


	3. Chapter 3

Yeah, i was bored and just decided to do a new chappy.

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Chapter 3: "It Ain't Over Yet..."

Marie flew as fast as her large wings could carry her. She was determined to find the plane that had taken Cody. She didn't know where she was going, or when she would get there, but she had to keep flying. With the way she was feeling no hungry shark or killer whale would dare mess with her. Nothing was going to stop her.

_Turn me loose - it's now or never,_

_Feel like i could run forever,_

_A new day's come - a new moon's risin',_

_I take my chances on the blue horizon,_

_A leap of faith - a shot of spirit,_

_Freedom's callin' - I can hear it_

_Hold on tight - we're gonna get there,_

_It's time we're on our way,_

_It ain't over yet - you can lay your bet,_

_Now nothin's in my way - you ain't seen nothin' yet,_

_I have learned to fly - hold my head up high,_

_Somthin' i don't want you to forget,_

_It ain't over yet, it ain't over yet,_

Marie flew all day and well into the night. She was tired, but hardly noticed it. All she could think of right now was getting to Cody, and hoping he was ok.

_I was born to run - born to ramble,_

_Any prize's worth a gamble,_

_Sometime's I get the urge to wonder,_

_Cuz I'm a child of the wild blue yonder,_

_Fill our hands - the sky's the limit,_

_The race is on - we have to win it,_

_Hold on tight - we're gonna get there,_

_It's time we're on our way,_

_It ain't over yet - you can lay your bet,_

_Now nothin's in my way - you ain't seen nothin' yet,_

_I have learned to fly - hold my head up high,_

_Somthin' i don't want you to forget,_

_It ain't over yet,_

Marie was in to her second day of flying, non stop. Her face fell as she saw storm clouds forming in the sky. Low thunder rumbled in the distance. Then the rain began to fall. Soft at first, but becoming more fierce after a while. As if her exhaustion wasn't enough, the rain made it even harder for her to fly _and _see clearly.

_How ya gonna know if you got what it takes,_

_Can't be a winner if you don't run a race,_

_Ya know you're gettin' nothin',_

_If ya come second place,_

_Cuz it ain't over until it's over,_

Marie let out a frustrated growl and pumped her wings harder. She was weak, but her anger and determination was making her stronger by the minute. Lightning flashed not too far off. She didn't care. She was going to keep her promise to her friends. She would either succeed, or die trying.

_It ain't over yet - You can lay your bet,_

_Now nothin's in my way - you ain't seen nothin' yet,_

_I have learned to fly - hold my head up high,_

_Somthin' i don't want you to forget,_

_It ain't over yet (It ain't over yet)_

_It ain't over yet (It ain't over yet)_

_Oh, nothin's in my way - you ain't seen nothin' yet,_

_I have learned to fly - hold my head up high,_

_Somthin' I don't want you to forget,_

_It ain't over yet,_

She kept flying. It would be dark soon, and if the storm didn't let up, she would be in trouble. But she wasn't worried about that now. As long as there was light left, she would go on. But what would she do when darkness fell? That she did not know.

_No!_

_It ain't over yet,_

_It ain't over yet,_


	4. Chapter 4

YAY! Finally got a review on my story! Thankies!

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Chapter 4: "The Word of a Shark; It's Worthless"

Marie's wings ached terribly. She needed to land somewhere and rest, but she was afraid to. She feared that if she stopped moving her wings for too long they would become stiff, and she would no longer be able to fly, which wouldn't be too bad, considering she'd have some extra time to rest, but there was also the threat of sharks and killer whales.

Unfortunately, her wings weren't the only things on her body that ached. Her stomach bubbled with hunger from lack of food. She had to find somthing to eat soon, or, if exhaustion didn't take her first, her hunger would lead her to her demise.

She needed to make a decision fast. If she kept flying she would surely die from either dehydration, exhaustion or hunger. If she landed she risked the chance of being eaten by some aquatic creature from the deep, but she also increased her chance of survivng.

Muttering and cursing under her breath, she flew down and landed in the cool ocean water with a soft splash. She groaned painfully as she folded her wings against her back for the first time in days. She fluffed up her feathers a little bit, cleaned them, and then lowered her head beneath the ocean's surface. Unlike the Brown Pelican, White Pelicans don't dive for their food. Instead, they use a method call coopertive fishing.

To her own surprise and pure delight, she managed to catch a few fat, silver fish. Gulping them down one by one, she sighed in content to find her belly nearly full once again.

She had spotted no sharks, much to her own personal pleasure, and began to warm her feathers in the sun's golden glow.

Wait. Was that a ripple she felt from underneath her? Straightening up a bit, she looked at her surroundings carefully. Hoping not to see the all too familiar fin of a shark cutting the ocean's surface.

Marie, glancing from side to side once again, slowly submerged her head below the ocean's blue surface. Though her sight underwater wasn't the best, she could still make out a shark, no problem. But would she spot it in time? That was the question that buzzed inside her skull.

Slowly kicking her feet, she turned in a complete circle, peering into the sea's blue abyss. To the West; nothing. To the South; seaweed. to the East; a little green fish with large eyes. To the North; a great white shark. To the West aga...wait a minute!

Marie did a double take and turned back toward North. Floating not one foot away was the largest great white she'd ever seen. To make matters worse, two more swam out from behind him; a Mako shark with a fishing hook embedded in his snout, and a hammerhead.

The great white gave her a toothy grin, "Hello." he said with a thick aussie accent.

Bubbles billowed around Marie's head as she let out a startled scream underwater. She quickly thrust her head out of the water and began to flap her wings. Sharp pain shot through her wings like electricity with ever little movement. Her worse fear had come true. The muscles in her wings had become stiff and achy, she couldn't fly, and there were three sharks just below her.

The sharks--? Why haven't they attacked yet? Had her sudden outburst startled them? Did they find her too scrawny to make a good meal out of? Were they fighting over who gets the dark meat?

"I must be out of my mind," she muttered, making one of the stupidest decisions in her life. She slowly dunked her head under the water and looked at the sharks, who were still floating in the same spot, bickering amongst themselves. They hadn't even noticed she was watching them yet.

"Ya scared 'er," said the mako shark angrily, smacking the great white with a fin. His accent was the same as the great white's.

"I scared 'er? It was probably your ugly mug that did," the great white protested, returning the mako's smack.

The mako looked offended, "M_-?! My_ ugly mug? Speak fer yerself, Bruce!"

"Uh...guys?" the hammerhead began. He had finally noticed Marie's stares.

The other two looked up and noticed Marie as well. They smiled at her. Was it just Marie or did they look...friendly?

"Well, g'day to you, ma'am," the mako shark said brightly.

Marie was at a complete loss for words. It wasn't every day she talked to sharks, and friendly ones at that. "Uh...i..." she stuttered.

"Aw, she's shy," the hammerhead said, making the others laugh.

"It's alright. You're a newcomer around here aren't ya? Just start out with your name, darlin'. We're not gonna eat ya," the great white, apparently named Bruce, said kindly.

The mako looked at him, puzzled, "Aren't we?" he asked.

Bruce and the hammerhead sent him a glare. The hammerhead smacked him upside the head with a fin.

"Oi! What was that for?" the mako rubbed his noggin tenderly.

Marie almost forgot she was underwater and quickly went up to take a breath. Then she went back under to make sure they weren't an illusion and they were still there.

"Well?" Bruce asked patiently.

"M-M-Marie," she said, trying not to sound as frightened as she was. She was having a tough time hiding her apparent fear, obviously.

"Hey, she's American," the hammerhead said brightly.

"What's a pretty bird such as yerself doin' way out here on the reef?" the mako asked.

"Why do you ask?" Marie narrowed her eyes at them. They were sharks! Why would they care where she was going if they were just going to gobble her up in a second anyway?

The mako held up his fins defensively, "Alright, young miss! I meant no offense. Just curious is all. You're pretty far away from yer home."

"I'm looking for someone. He was carried off by an airplane in this direction and i'm going after it," she explained to them.

The three exchanged glances before Bruce said, "By any chance, was it red and white plane?"

Marie's eyes brightened, "That's the one! You've seen it?"

"Yeah. It passed by about three days ago," the mako said, "Probably in Sydney by now,"

Marie cocked an eye ridge, "Where?"

"Sydney, Australia," Bruce said, "That's where it went. We could almost get you the rest of the way there, if you like."

"Almost?" Marie questioned suspiciously.

Bruce looked down sheepishly and said, "Yeah, well...we could take you about ten miles away from Sydney harbor. We would take you further than that, but...you see, the humans don't really like sharks in there harbor, so..." he cut off there.

Marie glanced at the other two, who moved there fins across their necks in a somewhat slashing sort of way, crossing their eyes and sticking their tongues out of their mouths.

Now Marie understood why they wouldn't go any closer than ten miles. They wanted to avoid being spotted by humans as much as possible. But there was still one question stuck in her mind; "How can i trust you?" she asked.

Bruce placed a fin over his heart and said, "I give you my word. We will get you on your way to Sydney as quickly as possible."

"Amen," said the mako and the hammerhead in unison.

Marie rolled her blue eyes, "The word of a shark," she muttered, "It's worthless,"

"What 'ave ya got to lose?" Bruce asked.

He had a point, she had to admit that. She sighed deeply, "I can't believe i'm doing this," she muttered to herself. She turned back to them and said, "Alright, i'll trust you. But, no funny business," she warned.

"Never," the three said in unison.

"Oh, we haven't been properly introduced," Bruce said, "I'm Bruce," he pointed to the mako shark, "This is Chum,"

"'Ello," he said.

Bruce then pointed to the hammerhead, "And this is Anchor,"

"G'day,"

"Pleasure to meet you. It's not every day i get help from sharks though," she said.

"We understand. Now, let's not waste any more daylight and find this little chap of yours," Bruce began to swim off, the others following close behind.

Marie went back up to the surface and shook the water from her feathers. She began to follow the three gray fins protruding from the water. _I'm coming, Cody. _she thought to herself, _Hold on,_


	5. Chapter 5

_Click!_

Cody looked up from behind the suitcase he had been cowering by for nearly the entire trip. Streaks of fur on his face were matted from where his tears had fallen, and he was shaking with fear.

He saw that the cargo hold's door had been opened and he quickly began to bound over to it. He was afraid the humans might see him, but getting off that scary plane was the only thing on his mind at the moment.

Poking his orange head out the doorway, he looked around, searching for any sign of humans. When he saw none, he hopped out as quickly as he could and scurried across the runway.

_Gotta get out, _his mind screamed at him, _Gotta get away from here!_

He cried out loud as he made a sharp turn to his right, trying to avoid an oncoming luggage cart, which happened to be carrying a few cages containing large dogs who began to bark at Cody and try to break free from their metal and plastic prisons.

Startled by the noises, Cody stumbled slightly and continued on. He ran and ran until the airport was nearly out of his site...which wouldn't be too far, considering he was a very small fox. He came to a shoreline that stretched as far as the eye could see.

His little black paws burned from the sands intense heat. He jumped in a small wooden dingy that was resting on the beach a little off to his left.

Standing on the seat, he stuck his head out and looked around, trying to locate any signs of danger. Sighing with content, he sunk to the old boat's wooden floor and crawled under the seat. Hiding in the cool shade, he curled up in a little ball and let out a sniffle, "...Angel."

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It was midday of Angel Marie's fifth day out at sea. She struggled to keep up with the swimming sharks. Being a bird, she was faster up in the air than down in the choppy ocean waves. But she was still a little tired from the previous days.

Although her instinct thought otherwise, she enjoyed the shark's company. After all, they were the only _real _company she'd had in days.

"So, you guys don't eat fish?" she asked, laughing terribly.

Chum stuck his head out of the water, "Nope. It has been four months since our last fish." he said with a proud smile.

"Then what do you live off of?" she asked.

"Dolphins." answered Anchor, sticking his head out of the water as well.

"And other creatures that like to show off," Chum said angrily. Marie laughed at his impression of a dolphin.

"What about birds?" Marie asked with a smirk.

The two sharks fell silent. They weren't expecting the question. "Pch! Ha! No." Chum bluffed.

"Absolutely not!" Anchor said.

Marie rolled her eyes and gave them a knowing look, "Liars."

The two sharks chuckled nervously and swam quicker to catch up with Bruce, who called to Marie, "Not much further, sheila. We'll point you in Sydney's general direction, but you'll be on yer own from there. You gonna be ok?"

Marie nodded, "Don't worry about me, Bruce," she said, "I made it more than halfway by myself, i can manage ten more miles alone." she gave him a smile that she hoped was disarming.

"Alright, but be careful. Heard there's gonna be a big thunder storm up near the coast. You don't want to be delivered to your little friend in a bucket of fried chicken." Bruce warned.

The young pelican groaned. As if the trip wasn't difficult enough with the first storm. Now she had yet another one to worry about? Ugh! Now she'd have to fly double time in order to get to Sydney in one piece. But she refused to give up now.

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_Plop!_

Cody was awoken by the sound of somthing falling into the boat. Opening his eyes, he saw a small cardboard cup of French fries that had been carelessly thrown into the boat by a couple of passing by humans.

Cody's stomach growled loudly. Licking his lips, he quietly padded out of his hiding place and stopped in front of the fallen treat. He gobbled a large one up hungrily. Licking the potato chunks stuck to his teeth, he reached out to grab another one.

"Mine?" asked an innocent voice above him.

Not moving one more muscle and slowly looking upward, he saw that atleast twenty seagulls had gathered on the boats edge.

The little fox gulped, "Uh...help?" he squeaked.

"Mine! Mine! Mine!" the seagulls chanted, beginning to surmount the helpless kit. They began to peck and snap at every part of him that they could reach.

"Ow! Stop it! Ow! Leave me alone!" Cody pleaded. Quickly, he darted underneath the legs of one and leaped over the boats edge and onto the white sands of the beach.

Not stopping to look back, he sprinted quickly down the beach, hoping to evade the hungry birds. Finally, he slowed to a stop and looked behind him. The birds weren't following him, but they were now stuffing their beaks with the food that Cody had hoped he would have all to himself.

Panting slightly, he bounded over to a large piece of driftwood and sat himself on top.

Shaking the moist sand from his fur, he sighed miserably and stretched out across the log, hoping the sun would warm his orange fur. "Some adventure this is turning out to be." he muttered. "Don't worry, Cody," he said to himself, "Angel will be here soon. I know she will."

A single tear fell down his face. Wiping it away, he muttered, "Stupid birds."

--------------------

Yeah, i know it's short, but don't worry. Marie will get to Sydney by the next chapter, i promise.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Never saw it coming...

The clouds had now rolled in, making the sky grayer than a shark's thick hide. Marie though she heard thunder off in the distance, but perhaps it was just the ocean.

"Alright," said Bruce, sticking his head out of the water, "This is as far as we'll go. Now, are you _sure _you'll be alright finding your way?"

Marie shrugged it off, "What's ten miles to me? Just point me in the right direction, i'll be fine."

Bruce nodded, though Marie could tell he was a little worried. _Sweetheart, _she thought to herself. The Great White pointed a fin straight ahead, "Just keep going in the same direction and you'll be good as gold. But just be wary of that oncoming storm, alright?"

"No problem," she said, spreading her wings and flying up about ten feet in the air.

Chum bowed his head slightly and said, "I bid adieu to you, ma'am," before turning tail and swimming away.

"Remember, Marie," Anchor said, "Fish are friends."

"You take care of yourself now, ya hear?" Bruce called up to her, swimming after his friends.

"Bye, guys! And thank you!" Marie called after them. Then she turned around and headed in the direction Bruce had told her to go. Her wings still ached, but the pain was more of an annoying feeling than an excruciating feeling now.

The rumbling sounded again, indicating that Marie had indeed heard thunder before. This annoyed her immensly as she recalled the first storm she had encountered during her trip. But the fact that she only had ten miles to go brought her spirits up a bit.

She had gotten maybe eight miles when the rain began to pound down. It was a worse storm than before, and the heavy raindrops hurt as they crashed down on her. She shook her feathery head and kept moving.

A terrified cry caught her attention and made her turn to look for the source. A small flock of terrified birds frantically flew in all different directions, looking for shelter.

"Seagulls," Marie said to herself, "That's a good sign."

Marie turned her attention forward and nearly cried out loud as she just barely missed a lightning strike. Lightning. Never good. Now she flew faster than ever, desperate to get to land. Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky somewhere off to her left.

Marie was afraid. "No way!" she said to herself quietly, "No _way _i'm gonna get killed now! Not when i'm so close!"

The wind roared as the rain continued on. Marie was freezing. The wind and heavy rainfall wasn't helping either. She looked to her left, then right, searching for any signs of lightning. When she looked forward again, she saw it. Land! At freaken last!

Overjoyed, she went as fast as she could. Closer and closer. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" she cried, smiling. Closer! She was a quarter of a mile from the shore now. She looked to her left once more, just to be sure she was safe from any lightning.

When she turned forward, however, there was a bright flash!

_CRACK!_

And everything...

Everything...

Every...

Thing...

Stopped.

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When Marie awoke, she was sure she was dead. She refused to open her eyelids, for she found that she was too weak to do so. Her left wing burned terribly, like someone had taken a blowtorch to it. She heard the soft hiss of ocean waves crashing up on the shoreline, and winced slightly as cool water engulfed the bottom half of her body, then slowly receded back to the ocean.

She groaned softly, the stinging feeling in her sore throat increasing as she did so.

"Hey, look," said a soft voice from her left, "I think she's coming to."

"Gerald, go get some water." said a second voice.

Marie heard light footsteps walking around her and to the ocean. Less then a minute later, the footsteps returned. The warm, moist sand beneath her began to settle in her feathers. She didn't like it. She then felt cool water hitting her face in small portions. It felt great, to be honest.

Marie struggled to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy and she was more tired than she thought. Her vision was blurred slightly as well. Atleast the sun wasn't out yet, thank God.

She felt the eyes of the blurry figure standing in front of her fixed on her beaten and pathetic form. Imagine her surprise when her vision cleared and the figure before her was another pelican. This one was different from Marie. It's wings were white, dark red, and a bluish gray, as were some other areas on it's body. It's orange beak formed into a frown as it stared down at her, concerned.

Marie also noted it's brown eyes. Brown eyes. Just like...Cody's! Marie quickly shook the sand from her head and tried to stand up.

The other pelican, however, stopped her, "No, no, no," he said quickly, holding up a wing, "Not yet. You're in no condition to start horsing around just yet."

A second pelican, this one scruffier and a little chubby, walked up beside the other and said, "You're gonna need a couple days rest before you're ready to fly again, darling."

"No," Marie insisted, her voice groggy, "I don't have time to rest," she managed to get up on her feet, "There's somthing i have to do." she began to waddle away, stumbling slightly after her first step.

The other pelican looked at his oil slicked friend and shook his head.

"Miss, please--"

"No. I-it's alright. I'm fine." she said.

After only a few feet, Marie's vision became blurry and she felt light headed. She quickly sat down again and waited for it to go away. It didn't. Trying to overcome the feeling, she just stood up once again and began to walk. The feeling worsened, but she still insisted on going.

Now her vision blurred completely. She couldn't see at all. Then she blacked out.

The two pelicans rushed over to the unconscious form and looked down at her.

"Ya know, i don't understand females sometimes," the one named Gerald said.

The other grunted in agreement, "Yeah. Reckon we ought to help the poor girl."

"What do you think this important thing that she needed to do was?"

Nigel shook his head and began to sling the younger pelican's body over his own, "I'm not sure, but it's going to have to wait until she's back on her feet. Help me here, will you?"

They began to walk down toward the piers.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: "It's not possible."

Marie groaned softly and opened her eyes. But she soon found out that even if she had kept them shut it wouldn't have made much of a difference. It was night. She lifted her head and looked around, catching sight of the brightly lit Sydney Opera House.

"Hm," she raised an eye ridge, "The lights are a nice touch. Snazzy. Ow!" she cried as somthing touched her injured wing. She sent a glare in that direction and saw that it was the pelican that had helped her before.

"Well, 'bout time you got up," he said with a smile, "You've been out for ages."

Marie looked down at her wing to see the damage the lightning had caused. A large part of her wing was fleshy and raw...and sore. It was burned alright, but atleast it wasn't life threatening.

She looked back up at the pelican, "Um, if you don't mind me asking, weren't there two of you before? Or was i just being delirious?"

Looking surprised, the other pelican chuckled, "Oh, no, you weren't. That was just Gerald, a good friend of mine. He helped me keep an eye on you when you were...well,"

"Well...thank you," she said, "I really appreciate you helping me and all...it was really sweet, but if you excuse me...there's somthing i really have to do."

He nodded, "Yeah. You did mention somthing like that earlier. And, no wonder! You're American, right? Surely you're not just here on vacation." he added with a chuckle, "How'd you get here? Sneak on a plane or a boat?"

She shook her head, "I flew."

He looked bewildered. "Flew?! No...it's not possible. There's no way you could've traveled thousands of miles non-stop...and across an _ocean_ at that," he knew it had to be some sort of joke. "Seriously," he tittered, "How'd you get here?"

She just smiled, "Anything's possible. And, no, really. I flew."

Unable to find words, the pelican just stared at her in astonished silence for a few seconds before smiling and saying, "You're either the toughest bird i've ever met, or a very good liar."

"Well, unless my statement convinces you otherwise, it's up to you to choose weather you believe it or not." she said patiently, "Now, if you'll excuse me, i have a kid to look for." she walked past him and and traced his jawline with an outstretched wing.

A chill ran down the pelican's spine as her feathers tickled the spot she ran them over. Clearing his throat, he said, "W-well...good luck to you."

"Thank you again, uh--"

"Nigel," he answered for her.

"Nigel," she repeated, "Thanks."

"Anytime." he called after her.

Marie walked across the beach and climbed up a few wooden steps leading up to a quiet street. Making sure there were no cars coming, she quickly scurried across the pavement and onto the opposite sidewalk. Turning into a dark alley, she decided to do somthing she normally would never do; search for somthing edible in the garbage. Bleck!

As she hopped on top of one, a jolt of pain shot through her wing. She hissed and muttered angrily to herself, taking out some of her anger on the trash can lid, which she angrily pried off with the tip of her beak, sending it crashing to the ground.

She looked at the contents inside with disgust. Not much looked edible, to her own appeal atleast. After a little digging, she managed to find a half eaten apple, a little brown on the exposed parts, but still pretty fresh. Grimacing, she delicately began to pick at the fruits sweet meat.

_Screeeeeeeeeech._

The sound made Marie shudder. It was as if someone was bringing four sharp knives across a chalkboard. Finally, it stopped.

Marie looked around the dark alley for the source of the sound. But all was dead quiet, except for the plip plop of water dripping from the gutters of the restaurant next door.

She knew somthing was there. She just couldn't see it. Not knowing where or what it was, she felt vulnerable and helpless. All she wanted to do now was get out of the alley and to somewhere with light or open space.

Quickly decending from the trash can, she began to make her way out to the street again with haste. But before she reached the opening, a large black and tan form stepped in front of her.

She looked up into the smug and hungry face of a rottweiler. It's dripping jowls forming into a sinister grin. "Hmm, what have we got here?" he said with a chuckle. "Take a look at this pretty little thing, guys,"

Two Dobermanns stalked out from their hiding places amongst the trash bins Marie had just been searching through. They let out low growls as they slowly walked up behind the bird, blocking her only chance of escape. They grinned and licked their saliva drenched muzzles.

They began to circle her with their heads held low, eyeing her every move.

Marie glared at them and ruffled her feathers, quickly looking from one to the other.

"What's the pretty wittle birdie doing out here at this time of night? All alone," the one dobberman said mockingly. "Did the wittle birdie get lost?" he got in her face, then slowly began to walk again.

The others laughed wickedly.

"Or maybe she got scared by her own reflection," the other dobermann, who turned out to be a female, sneered.

The rottweiler stepped toward her until he was nose to nose...or nose to beak with her, "I like pelicans. I like ta eat 'em." he growled.

Panicking, she did the only thing she could think of. She jabbed him roughly in the nose with her beak, making the dog yelp and stand up on it's back legs, covering his snout with his front paws.

Seeing her chance, she quickly dived between the dog's legs and made a break for the street.

"Quit gawking! Fools! You'll let her get away!" Marie heard the rottweiler roar, and within a few seconds, she could already hear the two other dog's paws hitting the pavement.

Marie ran as fast as she could, but the dog's were gaining fast. She refused to look back, but didn't have to when she felt jaws clamp down on her tail. Crying out in pain and shock, she frantically tried to shake the dog away. Finally, with a couple of small rips, she felt the fangs release her tail, but a few of her feathers went with them. She looked back and saw a fairly large portion of her tail feathers had been ripped out. She also discovered that it was the female dobermann that had caused the damage, considering she was currently spitting the feathers from her mouth.

Quickly, she made a turn down another alley to try and shake them. Big mistake, for she found that it was a dead end. Skidding to a halt at a brick wall, she turned around to see the dobermanns stalking over to her.

Gasping for breath, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Cody." She closed her eyes and waited.

But, a startled yelp made her look up. The female was now on the ground and quickly trying to right herself. When she did, she didn't turn back to Marie, she ran off, whimpering and yelping the whole way. And Marie was surprised to see a familiar sight standing in front of her defensively.

"Stay away from her." the pelican growled.

Marie's eyes widened, "Nigel?!"

The other dobermann looked from Nigel to the direction his partner had ran, then at Nigel again. Remembering what he had done to his partner, the dobermann backed away slowly and left.

Nigel unruffled his feathers and turned to look at Marie. "Are you alright?" were the first words from his beak.

Marie couldn't find words. She was astonished he had saved her...again! She just nodded in reply, not taking her wide eyes off of him.

Nigel looked at her doubtfully and then back at the alley's exit. "Well," he said finally, "Might as well get out of here before they change their minds." he turned around and walked over to her. Putting his head under her own, he helped her up. Then he noticed her tail for the first time, "Oh, look what they did."

Marie shook her head, "It's fine."

"Now, don't be giving me that," he said sternly, "I now know better than to just trust your judgement, so your little adventure is going to have to wait until it's light, and you're not going anywhere by yourself until you can fly again. Understand?"

She sighed deeply and nodded. He had just saved her for the second time. She wasn't about to disrespect him by turning down his (mandatory) offer. Finally giving in, she allowed him to lead her away from the alley.


End file.
